Read earlier entries from June.
July, 1999
1st: Nashville, TN
Today we pulled into Countryside Resort campground. The park roads
are laid out in the shape of a guitar.
At night there was a giant thunderstorm. There was lots of
lightning and the storm was very close.
2nd
Today I went swimming in the campground's pool and we went to see
Nashville. We saw the State Capitol, the Country Music Hall of Fame,
Music Row (Music Row is one of the biggest places where there's
everything you need to make/distribute records), and more!
3rd: Bailyton, TN
Tonight I went out to walk the dog and saw some fireworks through the
trees. The humidity has been around 70% and the temp is around 108°.
4th: Lexington, VA
Independence Day
Today we found a killdeers' nest with four camouflaged eggs in it. We
didn't see any fireworks, but at least I saw some yesterday.
5th
Today I spent most of my day in the pool, made a bonfire, and saw our
5th of July fireworks. Today was the first day that I ever used a
diving board.
6th: Aquia, VA
Today the car's thermometer read 124°, but we had been idling for
a while. I spent the rest of my day in the pool and found a pair of
goggles.
7th
Today we went out to see Russell at his apartment. We met his
roommate, Larson, and his friend, Rosemond. We all went out together
and ate at the Outback.
8th
Today we stopped at Russell's apartment and Mom did some baking (a
sour milk cake, a loaf of dill bread, and two pizzas). They had three
jugs of sour milk in the fridge and they were saying one was turning
purple.
9th
Today Russell came to the campground with us for a night. We ate at
Ruby Tuesday's.
10th
Today we all went swimming. Then we ate out at a Chinese restaurant.
We had lemon chicken and pork with garlic. After, we brought Russell
back to his apartment.
11th
Today we hung around the campground and I went swimming again.
13th: Westmoreland County, VA
We're back in Westmoreland State Park and waiting for the rain to end.
(There is no town of Westmoreland, VA.)
We saw lots of deer. Altogether there were two fawns, a doe, and a
buck.
14th
The rain didn't end yesterday, but there's only small scattered
showers today, so I got to go swimming in the rain.
Mom and I went kayaking. It was fine on the way to our turn around
point where we landed and rested, but it was hard coming back
(we were going against the current and the tide). I nearly collapsed
and my arms are going to be sore for days! We were out for more than
two hours.
15th
Today we went to check out a park that was plagued by bunnies. They
were domestic rabbits running loose. It was on the other side of the
Potomac. We thought it might be closer to Russell, but it was in very
bad shape.
When we came back, Ferf swam in the Potomac. He retrieved a dead fish
from the water. He chased some ducks several times and almost got
one.
16th: Virginia Beach, VA
Everyone wanted to go to VA Beach and no one had been there so we
decided to go. Before we left, Mom brought the truck in for the
30,000 mile checkup while Dad and I packed up.
When we got there, I went swimming and there was live music by the
pool. There was a DJ playing requested songs from records. I got to
swim for about half an hour.
17th
Today, Russell went parasailing. I didn't go because there was only
one seat left in the boat and that seat was Mom's. He brought his
camera and took some pictures from the air.
Later, we went to the ocean beach. I built a walled pit. It stood up
to all the waves that hit it. The waves were so strong I got knocked
over a few times.
18th: Westmoreland County, VA
Today we had to head back because Russell had to get back to work.
Mom found that a bottle of ginger ale had exploded in the back of the
truck and there was a ginger ale mess everywhere.
The biggest fly in the world visited us. I think it was a horsefly. It
looked like it was at least the size of a golf ball. Have you ever
seen one bigger?
We went to Willie's BBQ and Russell ordered a Willieburger. I thought
of Cousin Richard's dog Willie, complete with sweater and booties.
[Another roll of film finally got developed this week. Some of the
photos are on this page and the rest were added to June.]
19th
Today we went and visited old historic Fredricksburg. We saw the James
Monroe Museum. I learned about the Monroe Doctrine and other
noteworthy parts of Monroe's life.
20th
Today we went out to buy some groceries for Russell.
21st
Today I just played with the campground host's son.
22nd
Today I went kayaking with Russell. Dad tried but he couldn't paddle
far. After that, we went to the pool. After that we had an
outdoor dinner picnic. We had chicken with mashed potatoes and
corn.
23rd: Lorton, VA
Today we moved here and I checked out the park on my bike. I found a
nature trail to the river, a field, and a bathhouse.
24th
Today the trailer lost power because of a thunderstorm in Lorton. We
went to Occoquan but the lights were out because of the power outage
so we couldn't see anything inside the stores. All the air
conditioning units stopped so everyone was sitting outside. Eventually
we gave up and went out to eat.
25th
Today dad and I went sailing for my first time. When we got out of the
cove (somehow), there was wind. The side of the boat got dipped
underwater twice. After that, we went to the pool.
26th
Today we went to see Mom's friend Jo. We stayed at her house for about
an hour and then went to a restaurant for dinner. The place we went to
claimed to be Tex-Mex but everything on the kids' menu looked like it
was only the "Mex" half. After, we went back to Jo's. I played with
their new fishing game. We just missed Russell's friend Matthew (Jo's
son) in Virginia Beach by a couple of days.
27th
Today Mom and Dad went sailing while I played with some new friends.
We built/flew paper airplanes and played with their K'eneks.
28th: Manassas, VA
Today we moved to Bull Run Regional Park, and I checked it out on my
bike. I found the bathhouses and saw a deer.
29th
Today I finished 11 days of writing and got to the pool for two
hours.
30th
Today we went to Camping
World to buy a new water filter. On the way, there was a
thunderstorm. Bambi got spooked and ran from the right, across the
road, almost got struck by the van in front of us, did a U-turn, ran
in front of our car, and went back to the right. When we got to
Camping World we bought some other things.
We went to NRA HQ. We went through the display cases at the National
Firearms Museum and Dad got some video.
We saw a Polyphemus moth in the bathroom that had a
51/10" wingspan.
31st
Today was Fergus's birthday!
I played with my friend Ricky all morning.
In the afternoon, Dad and I shot archery. Dad finally got sighted in
and is now getting some good groups. I got a few bull's eyes too.
Ricky came and watched. Another person walked in and Dad helped him
sight in.
Then I went to the pool. Ricky's father was pretending to be a
snapping turtle. He came up on the island that had two cannons and
three slides. One of the two cold water shooting cannons was pointed
right at him, so I ran over and froze him by shooting it.
I have a very sore throat.
Continue on to August.
